Live blog of last PMQs before Brown's Mayday

EDITORIAL VERDICT: Lots of Punch & Judy politics from Mr Brown today. Another poor performance by Nick Clegg.  David Cameron did well enough but his choice of topic wouldn't have been ours.  We would have hammered Brown on tax again - particularly after this morning's Times revealed that "tens of thousands of families will have to pay up to £245 extra a year under new road tax rules after a covert government decision to include cars up to seven years old."  He might also have followed up Eric Pickles' discovery that Labour plan to introduce bin taxes but not until after polling day.

Highlights, not verbatim:

12.15pm: Nick Clegg's second question: Will the PM abandon his Post Office closures programme?  I won't take lessons from "Calamity Clegg" replies Brown.

12.14pm: Nick Clegg lists some failures of Labour on poverty but then [stupidly] asks the PM to say why people should vote Labour?  The PM obliges with one of his lists.

12.12pm: Gordon Brown responds by saying that Cameron is a shallow salesman who never addresses the substantial issues.  He wants to be tough on crime but urges everyone else to hug a hoodie.  He cycles to work but a chauffeur follows him.

12.10pm: The 42 days issue is the same as the 10p tax issue, says Cameron.  He takes up positions that aren't thought through for political advantage and they inevitably unravel. 

12.09pm: Gordon Brown avoids the question and quotes Met Chief Ian Blair in his support.  He says that the House will only vote for 42 days in principle - the House will have another chance to enact it, should that become necessary.

12.07pm: David Cameron says that with post-charge questioning and a commitment to a borders police force the Conservatives are taking the terrorist threat seriously but that they won't play into the terrorists' hands by compromising historic liberties.  He asks if Mr Brown will make this an issue of confidence in the Government.   

12.05pm: David Cameron says that Brown is ignoring the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the former Attorney General.  He quotes Stephen Pound saying that "I will support it but I think it's barmy".  The PM counters that it should be "ashamed" of itself for not supporting action that is a pre-emptive strike against terrorism, supported by the police.

12.03pm: The Prime Minister says that there'll be no U-turn on 42 days.

12.01pm: David Cameron begins by joking that the planted questions get tougher and tougher and then asks if the Prime Minister will have to concede on 42 days' detention without trial.

Noon: The Speaker begins by warning The House to behave more properly.

Comments

[Margaret Hemmings]

A disappointing performance from Cameron again today!

Does he not know there are local and mayoral elections tomorrow.

Why did he waste all of his questions on 42 days question?

He made Brown look authoritative and in control of his premiership.

It was left to Clegg to stand up for the poor.

Cameron has missed an open goal!

Bring back Hague.

[powellite]

Margaret, you're hilarious! Whatever you're smoking, I'd like to get some. All good chemists, or elsewhere?

[Wang Din Chin]

I agree Margaret. Sometimes David appears to be bored. Sometimes he isn't hungry enough for the job. Nick Clegg asked the tough questions that needed to be asked (10p tax/post offices). The benches on both sides of the house were quiet when Cameron was speaking.

He just didn't hit the mark. He should have at least have his own MPs cheering. Some looked asleep

[Mavis Davis]

Margaret, I think the problem is that we often compare Davids performance to that of Hague.

We are always going to be disappointed. Hague was masterful at PMQs (although he was outperformed by Harriet the other week).

There are so many issues worrying voters...inflation/tax/local issues/crime/insecurity. David made a bad choice of subject today. You can't win them all

[Robert McIlveen]

Hague was fantastic at PMQs, and although DC is better he's unlikely to be as good.

However, Hague's leadership as a whole was a failure - I know I'd rather have good PMQ performances and double digit poll leads than hilarious PMQs and double digit deficits...

[Gerald Bevald]

Best performance goes to Clegg today I have to admit. Cameron must do better. Pound hit the mark too.

Clegg is clearly growing into his role... He's one to watch I think.

[will.b]

Poor choice of issue today. Cameron should have done better at such an important time.

[Alan S]

I agree: Poor topic choice from Cameron although he might not have wanted to attack the showroom tax because Zac Goldsmith proposed it last year in his dreadful green policy group report.

[Tony Makara]

Note how Brown was going to talk about how unemployment is down, but then hesitated and talked the usual baloney about more people being in work, which could mean anything such as cleaners doing 10hrs a week at the local primary school. Yet again Brown rolls off his of 'achievements' Ceausescu-style at PMQs. He really should put it all on disc and bring a CD player into the house and hit the play button, its the same stuff done by rote every week. Monotony ad nauseam.

[Oscar Miller]

I think - as usual - David Cameron was being very astute. 42 day detention is the big looming political issue on which Brown faces yet more embarrassing wriggling and U turns. It neatly ties together with the abysmal handling of the 10p tax and it's going to be very big news. I remember everyone complaining when DC went on Tibet as if it was insignificant, but it soon became apparent just how perceptive DC was in tackling Brown on the subject. DC is a very good strategist who is usually several steps ahead of everyone else.

[Iain]

"I agree: Poor topic choice from Cameron although he might not have wanted to attack the showroom tax because Zac Goldsmith proposed it last year in his dreadful green policy group report."

But he could have gone on the back dating of the tax to 2001, which traps people who have bought cars in good faith, in many cases financially hard press families who have bought family cars, now find they are going to get clobbered with a doubling of their vehicle tax.

Very odd selection of questions put by Cameron just before the local elections.

[Umbrella man]

Brown got very personal today.

He and Cameron would be wise to let their juniors do that sort of stuff in future.

[Edison Smith]

I thought DC was pretty funny again, and won.

However, it was a DC win mostly because Brown is so inept rather than because DC is on form (a bit like our poll leads, one suspects).

The fact is, Brown is depressing. Despite having voice coaching, the man just has to shape his mouth in readiness to speak and one loses the will to live.

He is our most depressing PM in 100 years. Banging on about employment figures EVERYTIME as a comeback (has anyone actually checked them?) shows just how much the man is scraping the barrel (and the country's patience).

[johnC]

Cameron should definitely have focussed on the road tax revelations. People who drive Ford Galaxies and Vauxhall Zafiras are not all members of the super rich and it is unfair to clobber them in this way - particularly when Gordon previously promised not to do so. It's time for Cameron to abandon his 'green tax' zealotry and recognise the impact they are having on ordinary people.

[will.b]

Yes Oscar, but people are voting tomorrow. We didn't need an issue that will be big in the next few weeks, we needed a good hit today.

[Pat]

DC was very astute today in keeping to the 42 day questions. It stopped Gordon in his tracks as he stuttered and clenched his fists, stopped any Back Bench morale boosting repetition of the (wonderful) things this Government has done for us all and neatly exposed the fact that the Labour Party is divided on this issue. We have seen the U turn GB made regarding the 10p tax and we will see similar concessions over the 42 days. It shows a PM who is not in control of his party, is robust in his principles until the point of clear defeat at the hands of the PLP and reinforced the "looser" tag of last week. No need to raise the 10p or the car tax and bin fiasco: they are all being comprehensively covered by the media with a far greater audience base and interest than PMQs. No, concentrate on the man and his rapidly decreasing control of his party. Excellent tactics by DC to reinforce the 'self and Party before the Nation' theme that so characterises this PM's Premiership

[Daniel]

Skynews have accused Brown of getting "personal" and highlighted his attacks in a more negative light than Cameron.

Cameron was smart to make reference to his anti-terror policy (the one Brown stole), which deflated the idea of Dave having no policy and ignoring the issue.

Overall, Cameron did well.

[Iain]

"It's time for Cameron to abandon his 'green tax' zealotry and recognise the impact they are having on ordinary people."

But he need not jettison the green tax issue, for he could have said that its right to try and incentives people to buy more fuel efficient cars, but completely out of order to clobber people who have bought cars, mostly older family cars, in good faith.

Cameron missed an opportunity, in fact the whole of the Commons missed the financial pain this is going to cause families, for no other MP sought to raise the issue, which shows how out of touch our representatives are, for many families are going to be financially hurt trying to pay £450 to tax their cars.

[David Cooper]

What was Brown's briefest answer today, when reeling off tractor production statistics would not have served any useful purpose in evading the specific question?

"I knew nothing of the loans", in response to being asked whether Lord Levy was a liar in suggesting that he did.

Let's just keep an eye on that one.

[Gwendolyn]

Watching it on The Daily Politics I was really annoyed to find they had yet again dragged in Kevin McGuire as 'adjudicator' for Heaven's sake, the man who sets his troops at the Mirror into following Cameron around trying to find some dirt to fling at him. The BBC being impartial? I have written to them to protest.

[Tony Makara]

Edison Smith, we can't even trust the unemployment figures because when those on the New Deal are forced to do unpaid work-experience for 13-26 weeks they don't sign on and disappear from the unemployment figures. So all the govt needs to do is draft more claimants onto work-experience to manufacture an 'apparent' fall in the figures. This is why Labour is so keen to keep the New Deal going. Its far better to look at the figures for those claiming benefit to get a more accurate picture. Which as David Cameron correctly said is around five million.

[passing leftie]

Labour disunity is your only real hope of winning the next general election, so in that context the 42-day questioning makes sense.

[StevenAdams]

DC did very well and I'm surprised others think otherwise. Ken/Boris battle hangs in the balance and it wouldn't help Cons to build up the importance of success - better to begin laying groundwork for future battles If Boris wins that'll be a battle won and sung about anyway and doesn't need any ramping up in PMQs (which really wouldn't swing tomorrow anyway).

Cameron is pulling Brown apart bit by bit. He's detoxified the Con name, allied himself to Blair (levering him out of office), successfully damned Brown as a ditherer, shown up his lack of strength and leadership, divided Labour, shown the chasms in Brown's fiscal thinking, and is now pulling apart his defence policy.

So far, a pretty good job.

[David (One of many)]

Personally, I don't think DC could have topped the performance he gave on tax last week. That's the danger of going after the same issue. That said, a question or two would have been nice, but I think it was right to focus on something different.

[Iain]

"better to begin laying groundwork for future battles"

But this strategic positioning can be done anytime, why do it when there is more grief you can pile on in respect of the Budget, like vehicle tax, which is today's talking issue, and going to financially hurt a lot of people that connects to the removal of the 10p tax, and why do it a day before an election?

[StevenAdams]

because he is reminding everyone that he doesn't just react to Brown's mistakes, but that the CONS set the agenda. Eve since DC's election, the talking point of the day has been what the Cons has made it (including Conway... lamentably).

Green taxes, Inheritance tax, 42 day detention, 10p tax threshold, under funding of MoD, Northern Rock dithering etc etc ... He CAN highlight mistakes of the day, and will no doubt, but his strategy is to constantly ahead of Brown, to look ready and prepared for Govt, not merely an opportunistic opposition.

As for the Mayoral race, anyone that thinks that DC's performance at PMQs is going to have any tangible effect on tomorrows outcome is sadly deluded about how many (and who) watch it nowadays. Anyone watching or caring already know who they're voting for.

[Bexie]

Steven Adams at 13:56 is correct. Not that many people are interested in PMQ's per se, rather on the news blip at 6 O'Clock. That is far wider than what has gone on in the PMQ themselves and even the BBC are looking somewhat uncomfortable at the idea that they could be locked up for 42 days (ie 6 weeks) without so much as a charge being levelled. In the crass way that ZaNuLab has misused every single piece of "terrorist" legislations, they could be collared for disagreeing with the party line and not subsequently charged.

[m wood]

The PM stressed that if a 42 day detention period was necessary then Parliament would be asked to approve it at that time. What happens if Parliament isn't sitting?

[StevenAdams]

And lo and behold, the top news item on Radio5 DriveTime is that "the Conservatives are accusing the government of being duplicitous and not highlighting the tax-raid on car owners"...

I think our party is more acute than many even give us credit for.

[johnC]

Sad that Brown couldn't come up with anything more original to charge Cameron with than 'hug a hoodie' and the official car following his bike, both of which have been done to death. If he had to get personal, couldn't he have thought of something better than that ? And criticising him for being a 'shallow salesman' is hardly likely to endear him to millions of people who sell for a living.

[Adam in London]

If 42 day detention is such a good idea and a pre-emptive strike against terrorism that the police are crying out for - why is Brown only asking Parliament to vote on it in principle rather than enact it now?

Doesn't that strike anyone else as petty political posturing?

[David Sergeant]

Not so sure leaving the tax issue behind was all that brilliant. How about;-

"Would the PM, like his Foreign Secretary, apologise to the poor who have just had their tax increased and at the same time would he also aplogise to the Grangemouth workers, and millions like them, for putting at risk their attempts to avoid being poor when they are of pensionable age?"

[David Galea]

This was a wonderful PMQ's for Cameron.

Cameron's victory on the 10p tax issue was last week. When you've won the fight, why linger? Besides, Brown apologised for his mistakes on the radio this morning! Let's move on.

Brown was pathetic because he supports this ridiculous 42 day detention business. Cameron got him to say that he won't perform a u-turn. Wait for summer! U-turn or no, this preposterous legislation will fail due to its stupidity.

While Brown is distracted, Cameron is digging a large hole behind the Prime Minister with a spade. By summer the hole will be wide, deep, and full of Brown's own bullshit. Brown is going to be pushed into that hole and there's nothing he can do to stop himself falling into it. Brown is finished, drowned in his own bullshit.

[HF]

Rosa nulabour Prince gave Brown 4.5 and Cameron 3 on SKY tonight.

Will no one rid us of these Labour loving telegraph journalists?